Recently, from the viewpoint of a quality guarantee, there have been an increasing number of requests to obtain the information on the current processing and status of each product handled in a production process and a distribution process, and also the information on the processing and status of the product in the past.
When the flow of process steps are fixed and the flow speed is constant, it is relatively easy to obtain the above-mentioned information can be easily obtained relatively.
For example, in the production process, the flow of process steps is fixed, and the flow speed is constant. The product is handled with the temperature and other conditions controlled in each process step, and it is relatively easy to obtain the above-mentioned information in real time.
Thus, in the process in which the flow of process steps dynamically changes depending on the type of product, the state of process steps, etc., or the flow speed dynamically changes, it is very difficult to obtain the above-mentioned information, and it is almost impossible to obtain the information in real time.
For example, in the distribution process in which products widely delivered to various areas in the world in frozen storage, it is necessary to know the distribution route of each product, and the information (on the temperature control in warehouses, etc.) on the temperature control in each process step in the distribution route so that the frozen storage state of each product can be correctly obtained. However, since the flow of process steps dynamically changes depending on the type of products and the status of the process steps, or the flow speed greatly changes depending on the traffic conditions, etc., it is very difficult to obtain the above-mentioned information, and it is almost impossible to obtain the information in real time.
Thus, in the process in which the current flow of process steps dynamically changes depending on the type of product and the state of process steps, or the flow speed dynamically changes, it is practically not known in real time or in non-real time how each specified product is currently being handled or in what state it enters, or how it has been handled and what state it has entered.
Under the circumstances, the technology of managing a processing history and obtaining the information as to how each specified product is currently being handled or in what state it enters, or how it has been handled and what state it has entered in the process in which the current flow of process steps dynamically changes depending on the type of product and the state of process steps, or the flow speed dynamically changes is greatly demanded.
When the technology of managing a processing history is generated according to the conventional technology, a central management server is provided, processing information for a product is collected in each process step, and the processing information is collected and managed by the central management server.
With the popularization of the Internet, processing information can be easily collected from a number of warehouses all over the world. Therefore, it is possible to realize the structure for the above-mentioned processing history management.
However, with the above-mentioned conventional management structure, the communications load of a central management server is enormously large, and the memory requirements for the central management server are extravagantly large.
Under the circumstances, the present invention aims at configuring a new process step managing technology of easily collecting the processing history of each product in the process in which the flow of process steps dynamically changes depending on the type of product and the state of process step, or the flow speed dynamically changes.